A four-year-old medical prodigy descended to the mortal realm, and the entire capital sought her tre

The butler looked flustered, utterly shocked by the news he had just heard.

When the Duke of Ling heard that the Dowager Consort had arrived, his heart skipped a beat.

He was already annoyed, and seeing the butler stammering while reporting something only made him more impatient: "What else are you saying? Speak up!"

The steward trembled all over. "The Dowager Consort also said that Zhou Ruo is her granddaughter, and if we dare to harm her, she will severely punish the Duke's mansion."

"Grand...granddaughter?" Duke Ling's mind went blank.

Upon hearing that the Dowager Consort had arrived, Zhou Ruo quickly put away her silver needles and happily told Zhao Jinzhong:

"Brother, Grandma's here! Grandma's here to pick us up!"

"Grandmother?" When Madam Liu heard Zhou Ruo address the Dowager Consort in this way, her legs went weak instantly.

It took Duke Ling a long time to recover. He knew he had ways to deal with offending Zhao Yucheng, so he wasn't afraid.

But having offended the Dowager Consort, even ten Consort Lings couldn't plead for him.

He looked at Zhou Ruo, puzzled. When did this child become the Dowager Consort's granddaughter?

The Dowager Consort even personally went to the Duke's mansion to demand Zhou Ruo's return, which shows how important Zhou Ruo was to the Dowager Consort.

Duke Ling looked utterly defeated and said to Zhao Jinzhong and Zhou Ruo, "You two, get out and go."

Madam Liu hurriedly walked to Duke Ling's side and asked, "My lord, what should we do now?"

"What are we going to do? Ha! It's all because of your good son, who has ruined our Duke's mansion!"

I think Ling Yu doesn't need any more treatment; let him die!

Duke Ling angrily shook off Lady Liu and followed Zhao Jinzhong and Zhou Ru out.

Liu was left slumped on the ground, staring blankly at the departing figure of the Duke of Ling, before pounding the ground and weeping bitterly.

Zhao Jinzhong led Zhou Ruo out quickly. After walking about twenty steps, they saw the Dowager Consort walking towards them with a cane.

Zhao Yucheng helped the Dowager Princess up, presumably because the steward had heard the guards' report and came to inform the Duke of Ling first.

"Grandmother! Father!" Zhou Ruofei ran over and threw himself into the Dowager's arms.

"Hey!" The Dowager Consort was bumped by Zhou Ruo's small body. Fortunately, Zhao Yucheng caught her so that she could stand still.

The Dowager Consort asked with a worried expression, "Ruo'er, Jinzhong, are you alright?"

Zhao Yucheng glanced at the two children, who seemed unharmed, and breathed a sigh of relief before asking, "What exactly happened?"

"Grandmother, Father, that uncle is wicked. He made me treat that stinky guy's illness."

But I can't cure him, so my uncle won't let my brother and me go home!

Zhou Ruo was both angry and looked aggrieved.

Duke Ling followed behind and approached, saying, "Greetings to the Dowager Consort. I was unaware of her arrival and have failed to greet her properly. I hope the Dowager Consort will forgive me!"

"Hmph!" The Dowager Consort took two steps forward, pulled Zhou Ruo into her arms, and said:

"Duke Ling, the failure to greet you properly can be forgiven, but how can you forgive your unauthorized imprisonment of my grandson and the young general?"

Duke Ling immediately prostrated himself and kowtowed, saying:

"I was so anxious to save my son that I was unaware that Miss Zhou Ruo had become your granddaughter. I had no intention of offending you, Your Highness. Please forgive my ignorance!"

Zhou Ruo refused to accept this and said to Duke Ling, "You did this on purpose!"

"Does he not know he's my grandson?" the Dowager Empress sneered again. "Does not knowing he's my grandson give you the right to force a child to do something she can't do?"

"Duke Ling, if it weren't for this old man personally coming today, would these two children have even made it out of your Duke's mansion?!"

As she spoke, the Dowager Princess angrily slammed her cane heavily on the ground again.

The dull thud sent shivers down the Duke of Ling's spine, and cold sweat broke out on his back.

"Innocent, Your Highness!" Duke Ling kowtowed several more times, saying, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty, I was just joking with you, Your Majesty..."

"A joke? Humph!" The Dowager Consort was too lazy to waste any more words with him.

"Since both children are safe and sound today, I will not pursue the matter with you for now."

But your imprisonment of children isn't over yet. I'll remember this and settle things another day!

After saying that, the Dowager Princess took Zhou Ruo's small hand and said, "Come on, Ruo'er, Jinzhong, let's go home."

The Duke of Ling felt as if he had been granted a pardon. After the Dowager Consort and her entourage left, he kowtowed in gratitude, saying, "Thank you, Dowager Consort! We respectfully see you off!"

After the Dowager Consort left, the Duke of Ling slumped to the ground, his disheveled hair flying in the wind.

His sallow complexion looked even more haggard.

What does it mean to try to steal a chicken but end up losing the rice instead? Not only did he fail to save his son, but he also incurred the wrath of the Dowager Consort.

He felt very uncomfortable.

Zhou Ruo and Zhao Jinzhong rode in the Dowager Consort's carriage to escort her back to Prince An's residence.

Zhao Yucheng also followed behind in a carriage from the General's Mansion.

Not long after the Dowager Consort boarded the carriage, she began to cough intermittently.

Just now at the Duke's mansion, she really wanted to punish Duke Ling on the spot.

However, she was too exhausted to continue dealing with the Duke of Ling.

Therefore, they quickly brought the two children out first, and the score with the Duke of Ling could be settled later.

Zhou Ruo watched as the Empress Dowager's spirit insect didn't grow much, but it became stronger and more energetic.

Zhou Ruo approached the Dowager Consort and patted her back with her small hand.

Her little hands patted her back with just the right amount of force, and the Empress Dowager felt very comfortable. "Ruo'er is such a good girl."

"Grandmother, I'll give you acupuncture when we get back to the Prince An's mansion!" Zhou Ruo said, her hands still patting his back.

"Grandma just caught a chill this morning, she should be fine, right?"

It's true that the Empress Dowager caught a chill, and in the past two days, she has felt weak again.

Zhou Ruo shook her head, her expression somewhat grave, and said:

"Grandma didn't just catch a cold; the chill has accumulated in your chest, hands, and feet!"

The Dowager was somewhat surprised, but she forced a relaxed expression and said:

"Is it that serious? Ruo'er has sharp eyes now, she can see the problem with her grandmother at a glance!"

With Ruo'er here, Grandmother is at ease.

The Empress Dowager patted Zhou Ruo's small hand with a kind smile that warmed everyone's heart.

Zhou Ruo leaned into the Empress Dowager's arms, wrapping her arms around her waist. She couldn't bear to see the Empress Dowager in pain and said sadly:

"Grandmother, I've read all the books in the Imperial Medical Academy, but I still haven't been able to get rid of those monsters inside you."

"You really read all the books from the Imperial Medical Academy?" The Empress Dowager was hardly able to believe it when she heard this.

"Hmm!" Zhou Ruo suddenly thought of the spirit insect. She sprang out of the Empress Dowager's arms and asked:

"Grandmother, have you ever eaten an elixir of immortality?"

"An elixir?" The Empress Dowager couldn't recall it for a moment.

Zhao Jinzhong chimed in, reminding her, "The Empress Dowager, that's the elixir given by the Imperial Preceptor."

Upon hearing the name of the Imperial Advisor, the Dowager Consort's eyes lit up; she remembered.

"Yes, yes! Later, Granny Li told me that when I was unconscious, Prince An went to the Imperial Preceptor and got a few pills."

But I didn't wake up after eating it, did I?

As expected, it was another elixir from the Imperial Advisor.

Judging from the appearance of the spirit insect, the elixir that the Empress Dowager took should be the same as the elixir that Ling Yu took.

The only difference is the dosage.

Zhao Jinzhong suddenly thought of something and asked Zhou Ruo:

"Ruoruo, could the spirit insects in the Little Sheep Village reservoir also be related to the Imperial Preceptor's elixirs?"

Zhou Ruo shook her head, "I don't know yet."

"What exactly is this spirit insect you're talking about?" The Dowager Consort had heard Zhou Ruo and Zhao Jinzhong discuss spirit insects more than once.

"Grandmother, the spirit insects we're talking about are the poisonous residue left in your bodies after you took the pills."